Town Square

Organic foods market to open in Vintage Hills shopping center

Original post made
on Aug 31, 2011

The long-deteriorating, nearly empty Vintage Hills shopping center that was once facing the wrecking ball is bouncing back to a viable retail center with the announcement this week that a Santa Cruz-based organic food market will move into the old Romley's supermarket space.

Posted by Erika
a resident of Vintage Hills Elementary School
on Aug 31, 2011 at 8:15 am

What wonderful news! It has been sooo long coming! I remember fondly walking down to Flair, Ben Franklin & Baskin Robbins when I was a kid. It will be great to have a grocery store closer to home. I hope this actually happens!

Unfortuantely, it will be closed in 6 months. There's more to California cuisine than granola and tofu.
By the way, are they employing union labor? No?! Where's all the so-called labor leaders who were fighting a new WalMart at the old Nob hill site. Big and successful=bad. Small and eclectic=bound to fail.

Posted by Fletch
a resident of Jensen Tract
on Aug 31, 2011 at 8:51 am

As someone who worked @ Flair while going to college and now living in Pleasanton, it has always been a personal sore spot that the place stood empty. This is great news! I'll most certainly check it out!

I"m so glad to hear there will be a store right here in Pleasanton that will feature organic and sustainably grown foods! I hope there will be a good variety of fresh foods that are locally grown/raised. When will it open?

Posted by Neighborhood Foodie
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Aug 31, 2011 at 10:08 am

This is the best news for our neighborhood and for downtown! We'll walk here and will really enjoy having organic choices nearby without having to drive to Whole Foods in San Ramon. This market will make it, there are plenty of people who will be happy to have access to pesticide free foods. When will they be opening, before Safeway's new store on Bernal and Valley? Welcome New Leaf!

Posted by Toni
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Aug 31, 2011 at 10:41 am

Yes I am so excited I won't be able to sleep. I currently drive to Santa Cruz to shop this store. The butcher shop beats everything I have seen or ever tasted - and the produce is right up there with the farmers market.

Posted by Kim
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Aug 31, 2011 at 11:02 am

Finally! Looking forward to trying it out... There is enough local competition to keep prices in check. They won't fail if they get the communitie's support! Everyone who's been hoping for this for years - make it a priority to stop in at least once a week!
When is opening day?

Posted by Nancy
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Aug 31, 2011 at 1:51 pm

for Steve in the parkside neighborhood with the negative comment-Please just stay on your side of town an shop at Luckys and Trader Joes. Hope you car doesn't get smashed while in that Trader joes lot.

Posted by Mr T
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Aug 31, 2011 at 9:54 pm

I personally like the Lucky on Holmes in Livermore. Never will you see a more unreconstructed version of the supermarket you remember from 30 years ago. It's colorful, garish, fun to walk through, and unapologetically stocks every mass-produced, non-locally-sourced, out-of-fashion, processed and exploitative food item you can think of. And you won't find a single person in there taking themselves too seriously. It's great!

Posted by Michelle
a resident of Kottinger Ranch
on Aug 31, 2011 at 10:34 pm

Hurrah!! We've been trying to get a grocery store there for 17 years. Now I can just go down the street to my neighborhood coffee shop, get my kids a yogurt, and pick up some bread, milk and eggs without having to drive so far to Safeway or Raleys. I hope they are open on Sunday mornings when I am out of cream for my coffee so I don't have to drive down to the Dairy in my pjs. If they carried the Sunday NY Times, my life would be perfect. This is so exciting!!!

Posted by PlezRez
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Sep 1, 2011 at 5:44 pm

I have family living near the New Leaf in Boulder Creek. Every time I visit them, I try to find a way to get to that market for their fantastic deli! Nitrite-free meats make for healthier sandwiches and they have delicious and inventive salads, too! The store has a great selection of organic everything! This is the store I've been waiting for in Pleasanton! No more schlepping to Whole Foods in San Ramon!

There is nothing sadder than and empty store, so I'm happy to read this item; and if more healthy stores promote healthy eating habits, all the better. Anything that contributes to reducing the community's collective BMI contributes to a healthier and more scenic Pleasanton.

I've been to one of the New Leaf stores in Santa Cruz and was really impressed. Pleasanton doesn't have a store even close to this in terms of organic produce and REAL FOOD, not processed garbage. The Vintage Hills neighborhood is lucky to have this store.

Posted by Anonymous
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Jan 3, 2012 at 9:18 am

New Leaf is a great store. I've been to the one in Santa Cruz many times. It will be a great addition to the Vintage Hills shopping center which has been vacant way too long.
Another store that everyone should try is Fresh and Easy. They send coupons all the time in the mail (and sometimes it's $10 off) and the parking is great (unlike TJ's). They have a lot of prepared meals and great prices on other items, too. If you haven't given them a chance yet, give them a try. It's nice that we will have a few small stores to choose from here (Trader Joe's, Fresh and Easy and New Leaf). If the Walmart store comes, I hope Fresh and Easy and Trader Joe's don't suffer since they'll all be within about a 1/2 mile of one another.

Don't miss out on the discussion!Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Email:

Post a comment

Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration. Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online.
Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information
and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff.

We prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.

Name:*

Select your neighborhood or school community:*

Comment:*

Verification code:* Enter the verification code exactly as shown, using capital and lowercase letters, in the multi-colored box.